In this activity, students explore the roots of apartheid in conjunction with reading Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane's autobiography about growing up in apartheid South Africa. They draw comparisons between the South African apartheid system, the Jim Crow laws, and the Nuremberg laws. In addition, they discuss the similarities between the civil rights movement in America and the struggle to overthrow apartheid in South Africa. Throughout the multi-week activity, students make presentations to their classmates about their findings.
Thinking through how my computer lab assignments would cohere with my classroom teaching was the hardest part of my work. I had to make sure that there was always a connection to what we were studying in class so that learning in one arena could be supported by learning in the other. I needed to have a clear idea of the specific insights I wanted the students to walk away with and the direction the lessons needed to follow in order for this to happen. For these activities, I was determined that students not only enrich their study of Kaffir Boy, but also come to see how history tends to very unfortunately repeat itself with regard to condoning legalized racism, genocide and the abrogation of civil rights.
A lot of time was devoted to finding ways to make the readings I chose accessible – to thinking about how what was read could be best understood. I decided that before students read anything, I would entice them with an image that would whet their appetites as well as offer them the necessary overall gist. So, I depended a lot on maps, images, political cartoons and historical charts. Reading primary documents was done in snippets. Key here was not to overwhelm students with too much tough text. Interviews, however, as hybrids between exposition and conversation, were high on my list of text choices. Interactive tasks also played an important role in students' ability to comprehend material. An online simulation helped students experience the turmoil of different civil rights struggles throughout American history. Students deepened their knowledge, made key decisions, and received feedback about the historical correctness of their decisions. In this simulation, the feedback was short, and since it reminded students of previously-read text in order to explain why their answers were wrong, students got a second pass at reading to learn
Most activities were coupled with a writing task that students were required to present orally to their classmates some time during the next week of classroom sessions. I needed to have the students produce a product – with an established due date – so that they would use their lab time productively. The writing tasks varied from answering guide questions to outlining interviews to making comparison charts, all "writing to- read" activities where the writing assists the students to understand the text better. There was no need for long summaries or reports. I found that requiring students to present their work makes them work harder on it. They don't want to be embarrassed in front of an audience of their peers. It also allows me to have some concrete way of evaluating the effectiveness of each of the tasks. Preparing work for presentation also offers students another attempt at working with the material, and the more attempts they have at reviewing their work, the better they will remember its content.
At the end of our unit, I saw my students think about ideas a little longer and converse with one another in more sophisticated ways. Having understood the historical context of apartheid better, my students were able to express new concepts using a more sophisticated vocabulary than at the onset of the unit. These new understandings assisted them in handling tougher readings about life in post-apartheid South Africa, so that when they were asked to read articles from The New York Times about apartheid, their new vocabulary served them well.
Whatever activity you devise, it needs to make good teaching sense and it should capitalize on the visual and interactive power of the Internet. In addition, with respect to inquiry learning, first and foremost, students need to be able to handle the reading level of the assignments because they work independently on them. Guide questions, seeing images prior to reading text and finding accessible text should be priorities. Second, students should do something with what they read and preferably perform and practice their new learning. Require them to always write something and present this something in front of their classmates. Third, center assignments around people – students tend to be more motivated to learn when they see how people are affected by events in history rather than by just studying the events themselves. Fourth, have fun . . . learn something new yourself.
Activity Overview
We kicked off our computer lab sessions by learning as much background information as we could about the geography, economy, population, and political system of South Africa through the use of a posted map and data excerpted from a report published by the State Department. Students were given guide questions to answer and were told they would need to share this information the next day in class. From there, in sync with our study of apartheid abuses, students viewed and discussed the meaning of selected political cartoons representing life during the Jim Crow era, read the actual Jim Crow laws, and outlined an interview of their choice of a Jim Crow "survivor" which they presented in American Sign Language (ASL) for their classmates, during the next class session.
Next, students were asked to analyze genealogy charts created in pre-World War II Germany to understand how people were classified based solely on the number of Jewish grandparents they had. They were disgusted to see the connections between these kinds of classifications and those used by the architects of apartheid. From there, students read the actual Nuremberg Laws, drawing similarities between them and the Jim Crow laws.
Then, students participated in a computer-based simulation which helped them to contrast civil rights leaders. Students, assuming the role of a given leader, responded to selected interactive questions. An introductory paragraph prefaced each of the questions, so students were able to respond as they believed the civil rights leader they were enacting would have done. The computer responded, judging the students' answers as right or wrong, with explanations.
By engaging in these activities, students were better able to understand the life and work of Nelson Mandela. Students gathered information from selected websites which featured interviews with former tribal chiefs who had known Mandela as a boy and with fellow prisoners who had lived with him on Robben Island. Students developed outlines based on their research. As a final independent research assignment, they googled Mark Mathabane's name to investigate where Mark is today and what he has accomplished since escaping apartheid South Africa. (Fascinating!)
Materials and Resources
Assignment 1: Learning About South Africa
Hello Class! Welcome to Essentials of Reading II !!! It's nice to have you aboard. Today we will begin our study of apartheid. I'd like you to take a good, long look at the map of South Africa I have posted for you. Then, open up Lab Assignment #1 (see below) and answer questions 1 through 3. Then, using the information from the State Department, answer the rest of the questions about South Africa on your assignment sheet. Tomorrow, in class, you will be expected to share your findings with your classmates. Have fun!!
Assignment 2: Jim Crow Narratives
For today's class, I'd like you to work in pairs and discuss two or three Jim Crow laws that you find particularly upsetting. Then, select a Jim Crow Narrative of your choice to outline with a buddy. Before you read the narrative, be sure to view some of the images I selected. Prepare your outlines for presentation tomorrow by practicing them in ASL (American Sign Language) three or four times. Have fun!
Jim Crow Images http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/scripts/jimcrow/gallery.cgi
Jim Crow Laws http://www.nps.gov/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm
Narratives http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/narratives.htm
Assignment 3: Nuremberg Laws
For this lab assignment, you will need to read through information about the Nuremberg Laws. First, take a good long look at the genealogy charts formulated in pre-WWII Germany that sorted people into categories according to the number of Jewish grandparents they had. We will discuss this together and draw similarities and differences between what the chart shows and how this relates to how the people of South Africa were categorized. Then, make a two-column page with Jim Crow Laws on one side and the equivalent Nuremberg Laws on the other. Only record those laws that are similar. What can you conclude from your chart?
The Nuremberg Laws 1935: This site discusses how the Jews lost their independence. What did the Jews do who were excluded from German life? http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/nurem-laws.htm The Laws of Nuremberg: The "Blutschutzgesetz" (Blood Protection Act) also invoked two more prohibitions: Jews were not allowed to hoist up the German flag or to employ "Aryans" in their households. These laws stated that Jews were not able to be citizens of the Reich. Jews were not allowed to have any public functions anymore. Jewish state officials were forced to retire by December 31, 1935 and finally they were not allowed to vote. http://www.wsg-hist.uni-linz.ac.at/Auschwitz/HTML/Rassegesetze.html Hotel Reichshof Flyer: This site shows an actual flyer from the hotel, which prohibits Jews from eating in the dining room. http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/8955-4.htm
Assignment 4: American Resistance Simulation
http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/simulations.htm
For this assignment you will take on the role of several different famous civil rights leaders and respond to selected questions based on who you are and what you believe in. (You will learn this from the introductory paragraph at the beginning of each question.) After you finish answering the questions, take the quiz at the end of the simulation and let me know how well you remembered what you have learned (i.e., tell me your score.) HAVE FUN!
Assignment 5: African Resistance: Interviews with People Who Knew Nelson Mandela
In our study of apartheid, we have often talked about Nelson Mandela – the first president of democratic South Africa – selected by the majority of South Africans. In this assignment, you will learn more about Nelson Mandela through interviews with former tribal chiefs who knew him when he was a little boy, a former partner in his law office, former prisoners who were with him in jail on Robben Island as well as long-time friends who were very close to him and his wife Winnie.
Select an interview of your choosing, outline it and prepare it for presentation. Your written outline will be due tomorrow, but your oral presentation of it will most likely be due some time next week. Good luck!
1. Remembered as a young boy http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/interviews/chiefs.htm
2. Working with Mandela in his law office http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/interviews/ bam.html
3. Life underground http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/revolution/underground.html
4. Life in prison http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/prison/darkyears.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/prison/brand.html
5. Husband and lover http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/husband/meer.html
Lab Assignment #1
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
South Africa has three capital cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, and __________________________?
1. What ocean borders South Africa?
2. What other countries border South Africa?
3. If you visited South Africa, what kind of clothing would you need to pack – lightweight or heavyweight?
4. Which racial group is most predominant in South Africa?
5. How many official languages are spoken in South Africa?
6. What is the predominant religion?
7. At what age can teenagers quit school in South Africa?
8. If there were 2,000 babies in South Africa, based on the infant mortality rate, how many would probably die?
9. Who typically lives longer in South Africa – men or women?
10. What does South Africa produce the most of?
11. What is the equivalent of the dollar in South Africa?
12. Who are the Whites in South Africa descended from?
13. Who are the Coloreds descended from?
14. Who are the Asians descended from?
Find one other fact that interests you about South Africa and write it here:
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